Notice to the Reader: This post includes graphic language.
There is a valley that runs south from the southern wall of the ancient city of Jerusalem named the Valley of Hinnom or Valley of Ben Hinnom (Ben meaning “son of”). A man named Hinnom and his son lent their name to this valley, but, unfortunately, the Bible is silent regarding information about Hinnom or his son. In addition, we do not know how the valley became a place for dumping waste by the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Its first mention is in Joshua 15:8 proving its name existed by 1067 B.C. or before. The Old Testament sometimes uses the word “Tophet” or “Topheth”, which Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance defines as “a place of fire or cremation” when referring to Hinnom.1
Most of us know the Valley of Hinnom or Valley of Ben Hinnom by another name: Gehenna. Jesus spoke about Gehenna ten times within the pages of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The Greek word Gehenna actually translates to what we equate to “hell”. Old Testament writers referenced the Valley of Hinnom, often referring to it as a trash dump outside the Jerusalem city wall where refuse continually burned. Overrun with flies, maggots, and worms, the valley produced a sickening, never-ending smell. Hence, we have a rotten, smelly place where a fire burns constantly resulting in incessantly rising smoke and the stench of burning flesh from discarded animals and human sewage. The whole place repulsed the Jewish people as unclean and something to avoid.
However, there is another connotation to the Valley of Hinnom that is far more detestable and reprehensible. In the Book of Jeremiah, chapter 7 verse 31, we read:
“They have built the high places of Topheth in Ben Hinnom Valley in order to burn their sons and daughters in the fire, a thing I did not command; I never entertained the thought.” CSB
Jeremiah 19:4 declares:
“…because they have abandoned me and made this a foreign place. They have burned incense in it to other gods that they, their ancestors, and the kings of Judah have never known. They have filled this place with the blood of the innocent.” CSB
The Valley of Hinnom received an evil reputation due to countless abominable acts carried out within it by Judah’s King Ahaz (735 – 715 B.C.), King Manasseh (696 – 642) and the Israeli people themselves. Not only were pagan deities worshipped in the valley, the heinous crime of sacrificing children to such false gods as Baal and Molech were carried out (see 2Kings 16:3, 23:10, 2Chronicles 28:1 – 3, 33:6). According to Biblestudytools.com, the word Tophet translates as drum.2 It hints of drums used to drown out screaming children when placed alive on the red-hot arms of a pagan idol as a sacrifice! These acts of human child sacrifice, which was actually appeasement to demonic deities (demons) represented by the inanimate idols, became the reason God allowed the Assyrians to conquer Israel and carry away the ten Northern Tribes and the Babylonians to deport Judah into exile.
Who was/ is Molech (spelled Moloch in some narratives)?
In his book entitled Return of the Gods3, Jonathan Cahn presents a very clear examination of the pagan god Molech. According to Cahn’s research, Molech was part of a demonic trinity that included Baal, the bull god, and Ishtar, the queen of the gods. It would take far more than this post to explain how all of these gods influenced Israel and turned the Hebrews away from God, so I strongly recommend that you read Cahn’s book for more detail. Suffice it to say, people worshipped Molech around the world prior to the time of Christ. Death and destruction always followed. In fact, a study of history indicates that idols fashioned to represent Molech were made of bronze with outstretched arms reaching somewhat upward. Worshippers placed human sacrifices on the red-hot arms and they would naturally roll down falling into an open fire within the base of the idol. Worship of Molech always required human sacrifice.
Worshipping Molech was not the normal practice for the Hebrews. Molech was a god of the Canaanites, Ammonites, and other people groups living in the Land of Canaan, which God promised to His chosen people. God’s people were to worship Him alone and, by their obedience, He would grant them victory to drive out and destroy the pagan civilizations living in Israel’s Promised Land. However, reading Scripture reveals that is not what happened. Rather than influence the people in Canaan to come to God, the Canaanites influenced the people of God to become Molech worshipers. Moreover, the push to forsake God came from the top of the Israelite power structure. 1 Kings 11:7 states:
“Solomon built shrines on a hill east of Jerusalem to worship Chemosh the disgusting god of Moab, and Molech the disgusting god of Ammon.” (CEV)
Tragically, King Solomon led his own people away from God into idol worship. Molech was associated with the darkest of sins including children offered as sacrifices by their own parents. Regrettably, Solomon was only one Israelite king who advocated human sacrifice. Many others, such as Ahaz and Manasseh, both of whom made their own children “pass through the fire”, also worshipped Molech. History is clear that Israel’s leadership, including the religious establishment supported by the priests, led the Jewish people down this idolatrous path. The repulsive practice was an attack on Creator God. He calls it an abomination. Human sacrifice destroys His image bearers. Early Scripture warned against this action. Leviticus 18:21 exclaims:
“Don’t sacrifice your children on the altar fires to the god Molech. I am the Lord your God, and that would disgrace me.” (CEV)
Where did this human child sacrifice take place? You guessed it. It happened in the vilest location on earth for the Jew – the Valley of Hinnom. It was a place of slaughter. Jeremiah 32:35 bewails:
“And they led Judah into sin by building places to worship Baal in Hinnom Valley, where they also sacrificed their sons and daughters to the god Molech. I have never even imagined they would commit such disgusting sins.” (CEV)
What was the purpose behind child sacrifice?
The monstrous events that took place in the Valley of Hinnom represent the lowest any society can fall. The valley overflowed with blood, ashes, and children’s’ bones. The worship of Molech caused mothers to forget their God-given gift of motherhood in their pursuit of fortune, career, and freedom to live as they pleased. Moreover, the sacrifice of children in Israel affected the poor more than the rich because the rich could afford to buy children for sacrifice. The poor would sell their children fully knowing the plan was to kill their babies on the altar of Molech. Society in general saw child sacrifice as beneficial to the entire community because they believed appeasing the gods would bring prosperity for the entire nation. Many in Israel spoke of it as a duty and even called it a sacred act. Therefore, it was a legal act; believed to be beneficial to all, and viewed as holy. This horror resulted from a nation turning its back on God and opening itself up to satanic delusion and deception.
Does any of this sound familiar?
Before we cast stones at the ancients of Israel, we must look closely where we are in America in 2023. Actually, we need to return to January 22, 1973. In my judgment, that day was when America completed her turn away from God, after years of incremental steps, and entered total depravity. That was the day America legalized abortion and we inaugurated living in the Valley of Hinnom. Abortion became a metaphor for the altar of Molech, and America started worshipping the killing of unborn children. As a result, our culture launched on to a path of disintegration, which seems to accelerate exponentially each year. Allow me to draw some parallels from ancient Israel’s worship of Molech to America’s worship of abortion.
Do some Americans consider abortion as something sacred like ancient Israel? Yes! The following are actual words spoken and written by people who regard abortion as a religious and spiritual act:
- Our culture needs new rituals as well as laws to restore abortion to its sacred dimension.4
- Abortion is a major blessing, and a sacrament in the hands of women.5
- It is not immoral to choose abortion; it is simply another kind of morality, a pagan one.6
- Abortion is a sacrifice.7
- Abortion is a sacred act.8
Do some Americans believe abortion is a civil right requiring protection under the law? Yes! Such horror is difficult to grasp. In 2022, the Supreme Court overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which made abortion legal. However, that court ruling only aligned the question of abortion with the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution making it a state decision. While the 2022 ruling is constitutionally correct, the abortion industry still operates in the United States. Many states are overseeing modifications to their constitutions making abortion legal and, tragically, many are pushing laws to make abortion legal even after the child’s physical birth. These positions are no different from the position that some of the kings and priests took in ancient Israel making child sacrifice a legal action.
Do some Americans support abortion because it is a means to ensure the mother’s life is unhampered in such a way that her potential earnings, career expectations, and life aspirations endure? Will she be able to achieve her goals for success and prosperity? Yes! In recent polls, the number of Americans supporting abortion is about 62%.9 Just as people in ancient Israel condoned child sacrifice because they believed it would bring prosperity for themselves both as individuals and the nation as a whole; America fell for the same idolatrous seduction. Additionally, in terms of prosperity, the abortion industry in America is extremely lucrative. In 2019-2020, Planned Parenthood showed a net income of $1.6 billion, which included $618 million in governmental grants (almost $1.7 million per day).10 Ancient Israel killed thousands of children in the name of worship over hundreds of years. America transcended those numbers by far in just 50 years. Statistics reveal that as of May 2022, abortion services in America administered 63,459,781 abortions since January 22, 1973.11 To put this into context, that number outclasses the combined total of human beings murdered by Hitler and Stalin in the entire 20th century.
Do some Americans believe sexual freedom is more important than the consequential death of babies created through that sexual freedom? Yes! In ancient Israel, once the door opened to pagan worship and the people followed the pagan religious practices around them, Israel approved temple prostitution and uninhibited sex outside of marriage. The people actually welcomed the resulting children conceived through temple prostitution because those children provided future sacrificial beings that, in the people’s reasoning, brought more prosperity. Today, the sexual revolution in America, which began in the 1960s, encourages the idea of co-habitation and uninhibited sex. Fifty-nine percent of Americans polled in the age group between ages 18 and 44 live with a partner of the opposite sex outside of marriage. Sixty-nine percent of the same group believe it is acceptable for unmarried couples to live together. That number grows to 78% when polling the 18 to 29–age group.12 These unbiblical standards result in 46% of children born in America living in households with unmarried parents (including single parent homes).13 America’s preference seems to be on the mother remaining unhindered in her self-development rather than recognizing and protecting the life of the unborn child. The most innocent become sacrifices at the altar of convenience and self- development. The high calling of motherhood became an anchor to cut loose and cast away in the name of assumed civil rights and freedom. America definitely turned her back on God. The anchor is gone.
Molech represents a demon and he is alive and well!
We should never lose sight of the fact that America is in a spiritual battle for its very soul. Molech was an actual idol used in pagan worship. Today, we may not see an actual idol standing in a temple but the evil influence behind the idol is still very real. We must understand the pagan statue represented a very real demon and that same demon is alive and well in America today. By capturing millions of Americans in his powerful deception, he accomplishes child sacrifice today in a quasi-medical environment with a doctor and medical team standing in for the temple priests. Mothers no longer present their children to the priest for sacrifice. Instead, mothers and fathers present their unborn child to the clinic doctor for destruction.
Psalm 139: 12-14 paints a touching and beautiful picture of the wonder of God’s creation in the womb of every person ever born:
For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.[a]
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.14
The Christian knows that human beings are God’s workmanship, created in His image. Nothing is more important to Satan than to destroy God, but that craving is an impossibility. Therefore, Satan’s next tactic is to destroy God’s creation, which is the force that drives his evil passion behind everything associated with abortion.
How do we escape the Valley of Hinnom?
First, we must understand and admit that falling into Satan’s deception of abortion is sin. As with any sin; however, the grace of God covers it. Jesus offers forgiveness for abortion as much as He does for lying or any other breach of God’s moral law. His forgiveness is a gift He offers, through His shed blood on the cross, to everyone (John 11:25) but His forgiveness does not apply to us automatically. We have to accept His gift or it is not a gift at all. If you have suffered through an abortion or supported abortion, I encourage you to accept His forgiveness offered and gain the new life He promises. Walk into a new life with a clean slate and commit to growing in your new relationship with Him.
Next, those who claim to be believers in Jesus Christ must stand up for truth. Moral and absolute truth supporters are scarce commodities in America. Statistics show that 60% of those who claim to be believers do not believe in absolute truth. It is difficult to find truth in our current culture. Twisting truth into unrecognizable forms seems to be the new norm. Growing up, I easily recognized there were two genders – boys and girls. Today, that solid biological God-created concept is challenged everywhere one looks. Because American culture and education portray truth as relative, people claim their own truth allowing your truth to be different from my truth. Millions of Americans consider the 10 Commandments to be the “10 Suggestions”. Those who do not recognize a Supreme Being and push God out of every facet of life end up doing what he or she considers to be right in their own eyes (Judges 21:25). They ultimately create their own god and it is themselves. In general, America no longer recognizes its heavenly King and His Word that undergird her founding. It is not popular to speak absolute truth and those that do find themselves cancelled or worse. However, truth reveals God never gives us a rationale to keep truth to ourselves and for us to remain silent. He calls us to stand, stand alone if we must, but stand by sharing the truth of God’s Word. When proclaiming the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20), Jesus did not merely suggest making disciples. He pronounced an imperative. He did not offer options.
Finally, we must pray for America. We cannot survive as a nation without repenting and turning back to God. Just as there is forgiveness for each as individuals, there is healing and forgiveness for nations too (2 Chronicles 7:14). Pray for truth and justice to return to America through repentance in American hearts. Ask God to move Americans back to absolute truth found in His Word. Pray that God will wake up the church to recognize that we are salt and light to our world. He calls us to be warriors for truth instead of hiding behind spiritual platitudes claiming we cannot be involved in politics because it hinders the Gospel. Salt has no value if it remains in the saltshaker. We are to confront evil in our culture and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ at the same time. If we lose our religious freedom through poor stewardship of liberty, how easy will it be to have a positive influence on our culture through sharing the Gospel? Implore God to bring us leaders who understand the need to seek Him and His wisdom as He “rules in the affairs of men”.15 Pray for Christians to follow the guidelines of Exodus 18:21 by voting for godly men and women who will stand in as our governmental representatives. Ask God to open the hearts and minds of our current leadership from Washington, D.C. down to the county and city level so they see the destruction from the policies supporting abortion ultimately voiding God’s plan for the unborn. Pray they will govern with justice for all, which includes those in the womb.
Abortion is a spiritual blight on us as a people. We destroy the most innocent of life in order to satisfy our own pleasures. We submit to Satan’s deception without considering consequences and end up suffering in spiritual blindness. Make no mistake; a just God will never accept child sacrifice. He did not with ancient Israel and he will not with America. We will reap what we sew (I suspect we are already reaping God’s judgment). God never chooses for His children to live in the Valley Hinnom. If we continue to live in that hellish place, it is because we make that choice.
References:
1 https://www.biblestudy.org/meaning-names/hinnom-tophet.html
2 https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/tophet/
3 Jonathan Cahn, The Return of the Gods, FrontLine, Lake Mary, FL, 2022
4 Ginette Paris, The Sacrament of Abortion, Spring Publications, Washington DC, 1992
5 Sarah Terzo, Clinic Owner: Abortion is a Sacrament and Done for the Love of the Baby, NRL News Today, April 27, 2016
6 Ginette Paris, The Sacrament of Abortion, Spring Publications, Washington DC, 1992
7 Ginette Paris, The Sacrament of Abortion (2nd ed.), Spring Publications, Washington DC, 2007
8 Ginette Paris, The Sacrament of Abortion, Spring Publications, Washington DC, 1992
9 https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/01/11/what-the-data-says-about-abortion-in-the-u-s-2/
10 https://lozierinstitute.org/fact-sheet-planned-parenthoods-2019-20-annual-report/
11 https://www.foxnews.com/politics/abortions-since-roe-v-wade
12 https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2019/11/06/marriage-and-cohabitation-in-the-u-s/
14 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%20139:13-14&version=ESV
This is an important topic that many people are afraid to discuss. Thank you for sharing this information.